A Night To Be Remembered
by Crying Sorceress
Summary: [OneShot] I felt relived, I felt released from my cage of loneliness. I felt free! Maybe all those years of teaching taught me something… I had a strong bond of friendship with Albus and it will last for a longtime. Please review.


_This one-shot is written for a writing challenge but reviews and comments by email shall certainly be appreciated._

_The setting of this fan fiction is during Harry's seventh year at Hogwarts, __school__ of __Witchcraft__ and Wizardry, during a Christmas Ball. It is from Professor McGonagall's point of view, it is like a flashback, a memory of hers. You'd be greatly surprised of the pairing!_

**_Attention: There might be some Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire spoilers inside._**

**A Night to Be Remembered**

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I took a sip of my wine from my golden goblet and sighed quietly. Beside me sat Albus Dumbledore and on the other side sat Serverus Snape. Yes, I was eating supper and yes I was seating on my chair near the staff table while watching my dear students eating and chatting. But nobody at the table spoke, except Hagrid who was talking to Albus about his teachings. I sighed once more and looked at The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter who was dancing with Miss Ginny Weasley. I have to admit that he wasn't great at Transfiguration and he never did succeed to transform his quill into an owl and transforming his friend, Ronald Weasley, into a chair. Although he improved much after that Miss Granger told him to study well after he almost failed my class and that he was getting out of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. And of course, I could not let that happen, so I told his Miss Hermione Granger to teach him every night and to force him to study. And happily, it worked; this is the fourth year I'm teaching him after all…

I never liked noisy evenings and that night, it was one, but strangely I enjoyed it more than the other nights in my whole entire life. That night was the Yule Ball for the Triwizard Tournament and I did not want to miss it. The dance started when the four champions led their partners on the scene and spun in circles. It was a marvelous experience to see such young students dancing. I am already 52 and never learned the art of dance and I probably ever will. Nobody wanted to teach me; well actually I didn't quite want to learn. Why should I learn?

As I looked suspiciously at Serverus, I realized that he was looking uncomfortably at one of his students, Draco Malfoy. I frowned and looked at the boy too, and then I understood why Servereus acted like that, Mr Malfoy was dancing with Hermione Granger. Well that was a very odd pair, but then, maybe they share something rare. Something called _love and that something that I don't share with anyone except for my lonely family. Pity. Maybe I am a bad teacher, I always heard many students complaining about my teachings but being strict is my job. _

I looked around me and saw that Sybill was gone, so I scanned the whole ballroom with my eyes and spotted her with Sir Nicholas, the ghost. Sir Nicholas seemed to be asking her for a dance and she obviously accepted, they started to approach each other slowly, but at the moment Sybill tried to put her hand with his, her arms went through him. There was a sharp _ponk__ as she fell on the floor._

'_Oh my poor Sybill,' I had thought. '__She really should have predicted that.'_

I went to her then picked her up from the floor, and fortunately nothing grave happened. She only had a mere scratch on her right knee. I felt many students' glance on me and I stared back. The students suddenly spun around and continued doing their own things. Maybe I was right, maybe they hate me… or maybe they are scared of me. But I am sure that the teachers were not. Well most of them were not. Most of them… 

As I went back to the staff table, I discovered that many teachers had been gone dancing, but Severeus was still there, watching Malfoy and Granger. I tried to find all the teachers with my eyes and I did. Hagrid wasn't dancing, he was watching Potter, Granger and Weasley dancing with their partners, he too had noticed the odd pair of Malfoy and Granger. Mr Weasley was dancing with Luna Lovegood. Well in the other corner Professor Flitwick was dancing with Professor Vector while Professor Sprout was waltzing with… Albus. I felt a slightly pinch in my heart but I continued scanning the room with my eyes. 

That night was noisy, yes, it was. But it was also quiet, extremely quiet… I did not hear any noise, I did not want to hear anything. I just sat on my chair beside Servereus and we both were alone. Maybe I should have been the Head of Slytherin, it is true that I am lonely, but I get used to that. 

After a short while Flitwick, Hagrid, Sybill and Sprout all came back, only Albus was there, dancing with Vector. I felt another pinch in my heart, and this time, it was greater. Albus did not even speak to me during this whole night and I thought that we were supposed to discuss about Potter and his future career. But he did not. He did not decline directly to the discussion but from the way the acted, he seemed to be avoiding me during that whole night. Sadness started covering me, I suddenly stood up and decided to back to my study room, at least there, I could think in peace. I could be away from this. 

I took a quick step, then another one. This did not help me, having the idea of being in peace did not help me. The image of Albus and Vector dancing still flew in my mind. I rubbed my forehead speedily. Then I took some several other steps, I was getting close to the corridor, I felt slightly relieved but then my heart was pinched again.

'_This is awful, this must be a nightmare,' I thought._

I took another step, and I was outside the room, but it did not help, I knew that it was true, I knew all this was true, I knew the truth and I did not want to accept it. I remembered three years ago… when Albus danced with Madame Maxime, it was not awful as this, because I knew that Albus was only friend with her. But I also knew that Professor Vector had **nothing **to do with Albus… but still, I could not help myself. I just couldn't, I—

"Minerva?" came a very familiar voice, a voice that is too familiar to me. A voice that I've known for ages.  

"Yes, Albus?" I asked as I turned around and faced him.

He looked at me with care through his half-moon spectacles and smiled slightly.

"The ball is going to end, why don't you join us for the last minutes?" he asked.

"Thank you, Albus, but I do not think that I will. I have a headache."

"Minerva, is there something you want to tell me?"

"No, no, Albus. There is nothing I want to tell you that are of matter," I said as I prepared to walk away from him.

"Oh, and may I please ask you for a last minute dance, Minerva?" he asked.

My eyes were wide open and I felt the pinch of my heart disappear at the speed of light. I felt relived, I felt released from my cage of loneliness. I felt free! Maybe all those years of teaching taught me something… I had a strong bond of friendship with Albus and it will last for a longtime. 

"Why, of course, Albus. It is an honor," I replied.

And there I was, dancing with him in the last minutes of the Christmas Ball, under the bright room with candlesticks flying in the mid air. 

_~End~_

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